ELLIS REJOINS WCIA STAFF – Stu Ellis, farm broadcaster, rejoined the staff at WCIA after a two-year gap.
Ellis grew up watching Channel 3 in central Illinois, but no farm broadcaster was on staff. He started out doing a short farm program each morning.
“The station had some public relations challenges, and the new manager came to me,” Ellis said. “I got to start doing a show on the weekends, and I was delighted to do that. We got the station back on firm footing.”
After the station regained stability, the manager returned to headquarters. In 2022 a new manager came to town, and Ellis's situation changed.
“After he’d been there for a few weeks, he told me he didn’t know why I was there,” Ellis said. “He said we didn’t have an audience that was interested in agriculture and told me it was my last day. It happened before the Farm Progress Show, so my last program was in the barnyard.”
The loss of the agricultural information for Channel 3 was detrimental to the audience.
“If the viewing area for Channel 3 were a state, it would be the fifth largest corn-growing state and the eighth largest soybean-growing state in the nation,” Ellis said. “There is a huge agricultural industry in this area.”
Two years later, the manager retired, and another one came along.
“I saw one of the news people from Channel 3 at the Illinois State Fair, and he needed help covering the agricultural topics,” Ellis said. “I told him I would be happy to help if it was okay. A week later, I got a call and was asked to return to the station. The station staff advocated for my return, which was extremely touching.”
This story is a testament to the need for agricultural news and information.
“It’s really important for the farmers who are trying to make a living in agriculture,” Ellis said. “They need the best information they can get to make decisions.”
